A Man of God
by Packersfan12
Summary: Emma lost her family in the apocalypse, but who hadn't? She found Rick and his group somewhere in the Georgia hills, and immediately proved her worth. Daryl Dixon lost his brother, but stuck with the group for reasons he didn't even know. Maybe it was because they were actually starting to grow on him. Maybe it was their newest member. Hell if he knew. Daryl O/C.
1. Chapter 1

Daryl Dixon wasn't a man of God. How could he be when something like this happened? How could a man who sent his son to die for our sins, do something this catastrophic? He couldn't wrap his mind around it, and he doubted he ever would.

These were his thoughts as he and his partner Emma drove with the rest of the group along the barren countryside. Of course she wasn't really his partner in anything, but he liked to call her that. She had been the only one to hold a decent conversation with, and even Merle had took a liking to her. Through all the bullshit he'd had to deal with with the rest of the group, she had always had his back.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Her long hair was pulled back out of her face, which was tilted upward to stare at the sun, her right arm hanging out of the truck window. She was by far the most attractive eligible female of the group, and the way she handled a sword made even Rick look twice, and he was a married man for crying out loud. She didn't have a second thought when they were fighting the Walkers, she dove in and didn't stop until the job was done. In all, Emma was a badass.

He wasn't a man of God, but he thanked whoever brought her into the world.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked as they came around a bend in the road.

"A bath." he drawled, "A hot bath."

"I wouldn't mind one of those." she said, kicking her feet up on the dash, "With some bubbles and candles all over the place. Something to get the smell of Walkers out of my nose."

"I'm with you there." He said.

"What do you think of this place we're going to?" Emma asked, squinting at him, "Fort Whatever it's Called?"

Daryl shrugged, "Hell if I know. I guess we'll find out, now won't we?"

"I guess."

"I personally would have to say I think this plan is shit." Daryl continued, "We're gonna walk into this place, fucking Walkers everywhere, and hope to hell that there's someone inside to let us in. Real fantastic if you ask me. I mean, you saw what happened at the CDC."

"Rick's trying." Emma said, "That's more than some people."

"I ain't wanting to be the leader of this group, but I have a real bad feeling about this place." Daryl said, "But if there is someone inside, I guess it's all worth it."

"Do you think we'll ever find Merle?" She asked.

"I don't know." Daryl sighed, "It's his own damn fault for being an asshole all the time."

"You still want to know what happened to him though," Emma said, "I know you do."

"Well yeah, he's my brother."

The car in front of him put their breaks on, and their group came to a halt. Daryl stuck his head out the window and shouted, "What's the deal?"

Emma let out a small breath of air, climbing out of the window of the truck to stand on top of the roof, "Daryl."

He walked to the front of the group and found what the problem was, "Shit."

The highway was completely blocked off by what once was a traffic jam. "Anyway around them?" someone shouted.

"I don't think the RV's going to make it." Dale said, and the front end started smoking, "It's the hose again."

Emma hopped down from the roof of the truck and said, "You think they've got food?" she jerked her chin in the direction of the cars.

"And water?" Andrea piped up.

Lori turned and looked at them like they were the lowest people this side of the planet, "You really want to take from these people?"

"They're dead." Emma said, moving forward, "They're not using it." She drew one of the two katanas she kept sheathed to her back, and broke a car window, popping the lock. Daryl watched as she dug through the car until she pulled a plastic bag out, filled with canned food.

Daryl followed her as she made her way along the cars, collecting whatever she could find. He didn't help, only grabbed a bottle of water, drinking half and pouring the rest over his head.

T-Dog joined them, too, and they slowly made their way through the mess of cars.

Emma made a disgusted face as she peered in the window of a car to find a half eaten face. She sighed, "It's a shame to go out like that."

"No kidding." T-Dog agreed, "Damn shame."

Daryl's gaze swept the cars ahead, and something on the ground caught his eye. He slowly walking over to it, his boots crunching the broken glass. He kneeled down and picked up a small cloth doll, his stomach rolling. He stood slowly and looked in the car next to him. A girl no older than eight sat limply in her carseat, a small dot of red on her forehead standing out in stark contrast to her pale skin.

He tucked the doll under her small hand and walked away, taking a bag full of food from Emma.

"Hey," T-Dog piped up, "where'd everyone go?"

Daryl and Emma turned their heads in the direction of the group and saw no one. Daryl started on his way over to them, when a Walker stumbled around the RV. Slowly, one by one, Walkers started appearing, dozens of them.

"Shit." Daryl said quietly, walking backward until he was next to Emma, "It's a herd." he whispered, "Get down." She followed his instructions and he quickly drug a Walker body over her. She scrunched her face up, but stayed silent.

T-Dog let out a gasp, and Daryl looked over to see blood spraying out of his arm. He wondered at the group's stupidity sometimes. He crept over to T-Dog, pushing him down too, and drug a body over him. Ever so slowly, Daryl was able to get a body over him just as a Walker stumbled around a car in front of him.

It wandered past him, followed by the others. He caught Emma's gaze, and never looked away. Eventually the Walkers passed, and Daryl threw the dead body off of him in disgust. Emma followed his lead and sighed, "Thanks."

Daryl only nodded, examining T-Dog's arm, "Well, looks like you'll live." He said arrogantly, making T-Dog roll his eyes, "There'll be something around here to wrap that up."

"Sophia!"

Daryl hissed at the rest of the group to be quiet, but saw the little girl Sophia take off into the woods, followed closely by two Walkers, and Rick.

"Great." Daryl muttered.

"What happened?" Emma asked as they approached the group.

"There were two Walkers and we didn't see them." Lori said, comforting a sobbing Carol, "Sophie ran off, Rick went after her."

Emma glanced at Daryl, who looked like he hated the world like always. She sat down on the hood of the car, putting her head in her hands. Eventually Daryl leaned against the bumper next to her, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder.

Now, all they could do was wait.

_**Alright guys, this is the first ever attempt I've made at a Walking Dead fanfic, so don't be too harsh if you don't like it. I wasn't sure about writing a Daryl O/C, because I love Daryl and Carol! But I went for it, so here it is!**_

_**First off, I know Daryl probably believes in God, but I wanted to make him not in the beginning of this story, and slowly he starts to. Secondly, I know by this point he's driving his motorcycle, but don't worry, he ditches his truck now in the story, don't worry. Thirdly, it doesn't follow the episode of the second season full on, but it's the best I could do. **_

_**So here it is, the start of my newest story! Tell me what you think, and yes, this one may have been a little boring, but it'll get interesting soon enough! **_


	2. Chapter 2

"They don't care about you little brother, they never will."

Emma blocked out Merle's words, something she was good at doing. She and Merle had been a thing, once. She had caught his eye when she had joined their group, and she didn't deny he was one of the more attractive people in the group. Despite his constant insults to the rest of the group, he was a true redneck gentleman to her. He always made sure she was well fed, warm, and never alone. But having Merle as a partner also came with a downside. The group looked at her the same way they looked at him: with disgust. Emma had never done anything to make them hate her, but she hadn't done anything to defend them from Merle either. But through it all, no matter how gentlemanlike Merle was to her, it wasn't he who had caught her eye. It was no lie the man she found the most attractive was Merle's younger brother, Daryl. And, as she spent more time with the younger of the two, and more time passed, she too began to find Merle's presence annoying.

The day Merle was left behind, she had been hunting with Daryl. She and Merle had had a fight, and she marched off with the younger brother. Daryl hadn't been happy about that idea, but the look on Merle's face had made him more than happy to bring her along.

She hadn't shed a tear when they told her Merle had been left behind.

"Have you ever seen the Boondock Saints?" Emma asked Daryl as he leaned against the car, waiting for Rick and Sophia to get back.

"The what?" He asked.

"The Boondock Saints." Emma said again.

"The fuck is a Boondock Saint?"

"They're these two brothers who go around and kill criminals," Emma explained, "You're a dead ringer for Murphy."

Daryl humphed, shifting his crossbow to lean on the other leg, "It's gettin' dark."

Carol sniffed, "Do you think she's alright?"

"Rick wouldn't let anything happen to her." Lori said, putting a hand on Carol's shoulder.

"Why don't you head into the RV?" Dale suggested, "We don't want to be out here in the dark, especially if another herd comes through."

"He's right." Emma spoke up, "Daryl and I will wait for them out here."

"Are you sure?" Carol asked, her eyes watering.

"Of course." Emma said, elbowing Daryl who half-heartedly agreed.

"Thank you." Carol said, allowing Lori to lead her into the RV, followed by T-Dog and Dale. Glen lingered outside for a moment and then climbed to the top of the RV to take watch. Shane sniffed, and then started walking along the cars, peering inside of them.

"Do you think they're okay?" Emma asked Daryl.

He shrugged, "I guess we'll find out."

"Do you ever wonder where Merle is?" Emma asked, throwing him a sideways glance.

"Do you?" He replied.

"Sometimes."

"You think he's still out there?"

"We didn't find him." She said, referring to the rescue mission they went on to find Merle, "And he's a tough guy."

Daryl's eyes trained the ground as he said, "Maybe it's better this way."

She arched a brow, "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying, maybe it's better without Merle around. He was always gettin' under everyone's skin. Even mine toward the end." Daryl said, looking out into the woods, "Your's too. I could tell."

"Doesn't mean I still don't wonder where he is."

There was a snap behind them, and both whirled, Daryl's crossbow at the ready, and Emma's swords halfway un-sheathed. A squirrel scampered its way across the road, and they both sighed. Emma rose her eyebrows, "You just missed dinner."

"I'm sick o' squirrel." He mumbled.

"Rick!" Glen called, pointing to the woods.

Daryl and Emma rose as Rick emerged from the trees. He had a grave look on his face as he removed his hat.

Emma looked behind him, and around him, "Sophia?"

He shook his head, "I told her to wait under a fallen tree, but when I got back she was gone."

"Do you think the Walkers got her?" Daryl asked.

"No, I lead them off." Rick said, "She must have gotten scared and run off. I was wondering if you'd come with me to look for her before it gets too dark. You're the only one who knows how to track in these parts."

Daryl nodded, "Yeah sure."

Carol threw the door to the RV open and ran outside, "Sophia, is she okay?"

"She ran off from the spot I told her to wait at." Rick said, "Daryl and I are going to look for her."

"Bring her home safe, Rick." Carol said.

Emma watched as Rick started off, but Daryl came out of the corner of her eye, "Here." She looked at what was in his outstretched hand, "It's an extra, you'll need it more than me."

Emma took the gun he held, checking how many bullets were in the chamber. She looked up at him, "Thanks."

He nodded, and followed Rick into the woods, leaving her alone. She sat back down on the hood of the car, drawing one of her swords. She set it in her lap, and sprawled out on the car, squinting up at the fading sun. Any other time, she would have loved to have been out there all night, but with Walkers walking around she hated to be outside right then.

Carol stayed outside for the rest of the time, but kept her distance from Emma, just like everyone else. Emma watched her for a while, and then said, "There was this girl in my town."

Carol looked over to her, somewhat surprised she had spoken.

"And she got kidnapped from her front yard. No one even saw it happen." Emma said, "She was ten."

Carol swallowed hard, and spoke softly, "What happened to her?"

"They found her, right across the road." Emma said, getting up, "Everyone looked within a fifty mile radius of the town. Through the hills and the forest, neighboring towns, and she was across the street the whole time." She sat down next to Carol on the ground.

"Was she okay?" Carol asked.

"He had chained her to the wall, put down newspapers for her to do her business on, gave her dishes for food and water. Like a dog." Emma said, remembering it like it was only yesterday, "The cops said he molested her, abused her."

"How could anyone do something like that?" Carol whispered.

"It was sick." Emma muttered.

They were silent for a moment, and she could feel Carol's eyes on her. Suddenly Carol shifted to look at her fully, "It was you."

Emma turned her head. Carol was staring at her with a mix of emotions, "That little girl was you."

Emma shrugged, "I've gotten over it. Point is, I was lost, and I didn't know if anyone was looking for me. I began to lose hope. But they did find me, like we're going to find Sophia."

Carol wrung her hands, "Look, Emma, I know we haven't treated you very well. I guess it was just odd seeing someone have feelings for Merle of all people."

"You don't have to apologize." Emma said smiling, "I didn't really do a lot to make him lay off you guys either."

"Daryl, he seems like a good guy." Carol said, "Not much like Merle."

"He is." Emma said, "He's got a soft side, whether you believe it or not. It's bothering him that Sophia is missing."

"I hope they find her."

"If anyone can, they will." Emma said.

Carol put a hand on Emma's, and they sat and watched the treeline, waiting for the men to get back. Emma got Carol to talk about random things with her, like the weather and where she was born, anything to get her mind off of Sophia.

There was a rustle in the bushes, and Daryl emerged, crossbow slung over his shoulder, followed closely by Rick.

"You didn't find her?" Carol gasped.

"Trail went cold." Rick said, "We'll pick it up at first light."

Carol went on about Sophia, but Emma was watching Daryl. His face was angry, fists clenching and unclenching. He said something to Carol and marched off to the RV. Emma followed him to the back where there was a bed. He was seated on the edge, head in his hands.

"Daryl?"

"No, we didn't find her alright?" He said angrily.

"I wasn't going to ask." Emma muttered, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you?"

He looked at her with a look of ferocity, "What's with everyone around here. When a guys says he okay, he's okay. Jesus."

Emma left, giving him his space. She knew not to push him when he got like this. Andrea was standing by the small table and said, "What's his deal."

"He's mad about Sophia." Emma said bluntly, not liking the blonde at all.

"Well he sure as hell needs to get over it." Andrea said, "I'm not going to put up with his bullshit."

"Then maybe you should leave." Emma said, a sudden rush of anger sweeping over her, "I'm pretty sure no one would even care."

Andrea had a look of shock on her face as Emma swept down the stairs of the RV.

_**Alright, so I just want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed! You're awesome! Keep on keepin on!**_


	3. Chapter 3

That night Emma sat outside, leaning against the tire of the RV, watching Rick pace in front of her. "What if we don't find her?"

"We'll find her." Emma said, "Everyone has so much doubt."

"If she would have stayed where I told her to." Rick mumbled, "If she would have just stayed there!"

"It's not your fault." Emma said, "You're the only one that went after her. No one else risked their lives did they? Therefore they shouldn't judge you."

"Yeah well you know how that is." Rick said.

"They're all just scared, Rick, their minds are clouded." Emma replied, throwing a pebble at one of the cars, "They just need a good night's sleep at a safe place."

Rick sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Yeah, well, I don't know when that's going to happen."

Emma pulled her knees up to her chest and said, "Maybe you need to get a good night's sleep for once. When's the last time you've slept?"

"I can't." He said, "I have you to worry about."

"I'll stay out here and keep watch with Dale tonight." Emma said, "You go sleep. You need it more than I do."

"I don't know if I could even if I tried."

Emma shot him a look, "Go. To. Sleep. I'll wake you up if anything happens."

Rick smiled half-heartedly, "Thanks Emma."

"Have you seen Daryl anywhere?" she asked.

Rick shook his head, "No sorry."

She stood up, and waited until Rick was inside the RV before she started walking around. Dale was sitting up on the roof, so she figured it'd be okay to take a small walk. She moved through the cars, looking inside. All she saw were ghosts of the people that had left them behind. Car seats sat empty, bottles of water and food were strewn on the floors, valuables laying vulnerable to thieves.

Every now and then she would come across a car with a person still inside, their decaying body leaving a stench she would probably never forget. The bodies scared her, their faces frozen forever in a look of horror. She never wanted to know how that felt. She didn't want the last she'd ever see to be an undead face.

She came upon a car and looked inside, her stomach twisting until she thought she would throw up. She couldn't force her eyes to look away, and the face that stared back would haunt her nightmares for nights to come. The body couldn't have been more than eight years old, and the Superman shirt revealed to her that it must have been a little boy. Though, she never would have known, the face was almost gone, half eaten by either a Walker or an animal.

"Odd feelin' isn't it?"

She jumped and turned around, wiping the tears from her eyes. Daryl sat on the top of the car behind her, his black sleeveless shirt making him blend into the darkness. He didn't turn around to acknowledge her, just faced forward looking into the night.

"What?" she asked.

"Seein' a child. Ain't right."

"No it's not." she agreed.

"I looked at all those cars up there, ain't nuttin' with seein'." He said, his southern drawl making her stomach do flips. She made her way around the car slowly, before leaning against it with his legs to her right. She looked up at him and saw that he held a bottle of whiskey in his hand, half of it gone, his eyes glazed.

"Daryl…" She tried to swipe the bottle but he held it away from her, "You've had enough."

"I'm from the south," he muttered, "ain't no one ever has enough in the south."

"Yeah, well, what if a bunch of Walkers come by? Are you going to fight them drunk off your ass?" Emma asked matter of factly.

Daryl took a moment to think, then took another swig of the whiskey, shaking his head at the taste, "Mmhmm."

"No. You're not." she said, "Give me the bottle."

"Fuck you!" he exclaimed, holding it behind him, but in his drunken state he fell backwards until he laid on the car, "The stars are real purtty aren' they?"

She looked up at the sky. There were no stars.

"Okay, well, can I at least have a drink?" she asked.

He sat up, handing her the bottle. She threw it against a car, the glass shattering and amber liquid rolling across the pavement. Daryl stared at it, then looked at his hand, "Whoa."

"Where'd you find that anyway?" She asked.

He pointed, then swung his arm in a circle around them, "Somewhere 'round here."

"Well what kind of stupid idea was that?" She asked, "You just decided to drink a bottle of whiskey that's been laying out here for God knows how long? Whiskey isn't even that good."

Daryl chuckled, "Me an'-me an' Merle used to go in my dad's liquor cabinet when he was gone and drink it." he laughed harder, "My ol' man used to beat the shit out of us when we were kids, and I mean full on metal pans n' shit. Merle always tried to protect me you know? So this one time we were messin' 'round with Dad's truck, and I accident'ly broke the windo'. Dad came out 'fore me 'n Merle could make up our story and asked what happened. Merle said he did it 'fore I could say anythin'. Dad beat 'im with a crescent wrench till he couldn't walk. I asked 'im why he did it, n' he said 'cause you're my baby brother, I gotta watch out for you."

Emma listened to his story, amazed that he was even telling it. A glimpse into Daryl's past life was so rare, everyone just thought he appeared out of nowhere. His southern accent was more profound with his drunken state, making her silly crush on him grow even more.

He was still smiling when he said, "No matter how much I try to convince myself that I hate Merle, and that I don't care he's gone, I can't. He's my brother, always will be. He always took the fall for shit I did, got beat by our dad until he left and I was next. No matter how much of a bastard he is, he always had my back. That's more than I can say about everyone else in our group."

"Hey, I got your back." she said.

"Yeah, I know you do." he said, stroking her hair. She looked at him like he was crazy, "What are you doing?"

"Don' know." he replied, jumping down from the car. He stumbled when his feet hit the ground, but caught himself on the car. She grabbed his forearm to steady him and said, "We should get you back to the RV. I'll kick Andrea out of the bed."

"Will you sleep with me?" he asked.

"What?"

"In the bed, will you sleep with me?" he asked, wavering.

"If that'll get you through the night." she muttered.

"I need to find 'er." he said suddenly.

"Who?"

"Sophia. I need to find 'er." he said, stumbling forward.

"In the morning." she said, pushing him backwards, "You can in the morning."

"She's out there alone." he muttered, "She's defenseless."

"Well, you and me, we'll find her tomorrow." Emma said.

"You n' me." he muttered, "You 'n me, we'd make a good pair." he slurred, "We should go out."

"Okay." she said, not liking where the conversation was going, "I don't like drunk Daryl, so we're going to get you back to the RV."

"You don' like me?" He asked, almost like he was actually hurt.

"Not when you're like this." she said, "You're stupid when you're drunk, no offense. You don't mean anything you say."

He reached a hand out and took hold of her chin, "No, no, I mean it."

"Well then, ask me when you're not drunk." she said.

"Fine." He said, sticking out his chest, "I will."

"Will you let go of my chin?"

"After this." he said. She frowned, but before she could say anything his mouth was on hers. His lips were surprisingly soft, his hands snaking up to coil through her hair. His breath was warm against her lips as he pushed her back against the car. She wanted this, she wanted it so bad, but it wasn't right. She knew men. She knew they'd do anything when they were drunk. But maybe just five more seconds. One of his hands slid down her side to her hip, as his tongue tantalizing grazed her lip, urging her to part them.

She pushed against him, "No." she mumbled against his mouth, "Daryl, stop."

He moved away and looked down at her, "What?"

"Not like this." She said, "If you want it sober then I'll let you. But not when you're drunk. Now let's go back to the RV."

He followed her obediently but stumbled and almost fell. She caught him, slinging his right arm over her shoulder to support him, "I thought you hicks knew how to handle your liquor."

"That was my second bottle." he said, smiling proudly.

"Lord Almighty!" She exclaimed, "You're lucky you're not dead!"

They finally got back to the RV, and Dale rushed over to the top of the roof, "Is he okay? Did he get attacked?"

"He found trouble alright." she said, "In the form of a whiskey bottle."

Dale sighed and rolled his eyes, "Put him in the bed."

She swung the RV door open and struggled up the stairs, dragging Daryl's full body weight up with her. Finally she got him to the top, sweat rolling down her face, "You could help you know."

He mumbled something that didn't make sense.

"Here, you stay here." She said, sitting him down next to the table. She took a slight break, catching her breath. Finally she opened the back door, startling Andrea.

"What the hell." She muttered sleepily, pulling a pillow over her head.

"Dale says to get out of the bed." Emma said, knowing full well if she didn't say Dale said to, Andrea wouldn't listen.

"Why?" she asked, sitting up.

"Daryl's wasted." Emma said.

"That's his problem."

"Dale says to get out." Emma said, "I'm only the messenger."

Andrea sighed, too tired to argue. She crawled out of the bed, stumbling past Emma and down the stairs of the RV.

Emma pulled Daryl to his feet, "Alright big guy, let's get you in bed."

She pushed him through the door, and he plopped face-forward onto the bed, not moving. Emma sighed, rolling him over. She pulled the blankets back from the bed, and pulled them over Daryl.

"Emma?" he muttered as she turned to leave.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry 'bout what happened." He said.

She laughed, touching her lips, "It's okay Daryl, you'll forget about it in the morning."

"Naw, I won't." he said.

"We'll see."

"Night."

"Night, Daryl."

_**So I know this is just a filler chapter, but I was in a really fluffy Daryl mood today, so this is the result. And yes I know Daryl is a little OC in this, but again, I'm in a fluffy mood.**_

_**And I forgot to put in my last AU, an explanation about the Boondock Saints! Norman Reedus plays Murphy, one of the Saints, so I thought that would be a fun thing to throw in.**_

_**So tell me what you all think about this! And don't worry, the search for Sophia will continue next chapter! **_


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